Here's the next chapter, and the longest so far. Sorry for the delay. I do wish that I could update sooner and finish the story quickly. But I don't want to write this in a rush.
Wonderbabe: I am glad that you are liking the story along with TomoYue. What you have written is exactly how I myself perceived the situation and their relationship. Tomoyo's selflessness and Yue's loneliness are the two things that struck me and stayed with me. Thanks for awaiting the next chapter. Hope to hear from you again.
eccogris061010: Gracias, espero que Yue esté en el personaje. Espero que les guste el resto de la historia.
The winter holidays finally arrived, and along with it, came a much anticipated visit from Sakura and Tomoyo's dear friend who resided in Hong-Kong. The two girls were waiting for their friend in the arrival area of Tokyo international airport. Meiling's flight got delayed by two hours due to the holiday season rush, and what was scheduled to be a late evening arrival was now pushing well into the night. Sakura was impatiently tapping her foot on the ground when her phone rang. Her face cheered up when she saw the name on the screen. After talking for a minute, she disconnected the call.
"Meiling-chan's flight has just landed. She still has to go through immigration and baggage claim, though," Sakura informed her best friend.
"That will easily be over thirty more minutes, especially at this time of the year," Tomoyo sighed.
About forty-five minutes later, the two friends caught sight of their third friend. The slim, athletic looking girl clad in a white jacket over blue jeans, waved energetically to them, and quickened her pace, pushing along her luggage. At the next instant, Tomoyo and Sakura were pulled into a crushing embrace. "Finally," Meiling almost screamed in excitement.
"Welcome again, Meiling-chan," Sakura said, nearly choking in Meiling's hug.
"Hope you had a pleasant flight," Tomoyo said.
"Nope, there was a screaming baby in the opposite seat, who wouldn't shut up for all four hours," Meiling said. "My head felt like it was going to explode," she added.
Sakura and Tomoyo giggled in unison, and Meiling pulled back, releasing the other two girls from her arms. At that moment, a round head of an yellow plushie bear popped up from Sakura's handbag. "Yo, Meiling kozo, did you get those cookies that I texted you about?" the sun guardian said.
"Hi Nuigurumi, you have gone fatter. Don't you think that you should cut down on your calories?" Meiling patted the head.
"Who are you calling fat, you lousy brat?" Kero gritted his teeth, trying hard to repress a scream.
"Kero-chan, stay put. People will see," Sakura tried to hurriedly stuff back the mischievous critter inside her bag.
"You two haven't changed one bit in one year," Meiling laughed a little. Then she turned to Tomoyo with a more serious expression on her face. "Sonomi-san is doing much better right?" she asked.
"Yes, thankfully," Tomoyo answered with a smile.
"Then why does it not show on your face?" Meiling asked.
"I have not been sleeping well lately, maybe that's why," Tomoyo tried to evade any suspicion on Meiling's part by answering promptly.
"That's true, Tomoyo-chan studied hard and topped her class the third time in a row," Sakura answered, looking at her best friend with pride and admiration.
"Come on now, let's get inside the car, or Meiling-chan will catch a cold," Tomoyo placed her hands on the back of her two friends, trying to direct them towards the black car which waited for them in the pick up area. She still did not feel comfortable when people discussed her accomplishments before her.
"It is so chilly, now that you mention it," Meiling wrapped her arms around herself as she spoke. The Hong Kong girl never quite got used to Japan's colder climate.
The following Saturday, Tomoyo stood on the cold pavement outside the town library, staring at the imposing building. The prospect of walking in and finding Yue-san sitting at his usual spot with a book before him was something she both dreaded and wanted at the same time. She breathed out a puff of air that mixed with the frosty morning air.
"Are you going to stand here and sigh all day or go inside?" Tomoyo's head turned sharply at the sound of the familiar voice.
"Meiling-chan," she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Just came to say hi to Yue-san. Tsukishiro-san mentioned that he takes his own form on Saturdays and spends most of the time here." The raven haired girl replied, pointing at the library. "Sakura had some grocery shopping to do, and I convinced Syaoran to take her to a movie date afterwards," she added with a grin.
"Soka," Tomoyo reflected. It did not seem that Meiling-chan's sudden interest in meeting Yue-san was totally unrelated with everything she heard from Tomoyo herself and others about her recent interactions with Yue-san. If she finds out about my feelings though, Tomoyo felt nervous
" Ikimashou?" Meiling said excitedly.
"Hai," Tomoyo said, and the two girls started walking towards the library building. It was the holiday season, and not many people were inside, barring the few avid readers like Yue-san himself. The young library assistant, Hana-san, was hovering around Yue-san's desk, presumably trying to strike up some small talk with the handsome man. Yue maintained a passive face, but his eyes betrayed his irritation.
Meiling rushed towards Yue's desk, all but shoving the library assistant aside. "Yue-san, hope you have not forgotten about me," she said in a voice that revealed her excitement on meeting the moon guardian, but defied the etiquette of a library's reading room.
"Li-san," Yue said in a modulated voice.
"Just call me Meiling, ok," the young girl had picked up Yue's hand that rested on the desk and was shaking it quite vigorously by that point. Yue was quite surprised, although his face remained stoical. "I wanted to meet you so much so that I could thank you for taking care of Tomoyo-chan when Sonomi-san–,"
"Ojou-san," Meiling was cut off by a strict voice behind them. She dropped Yue's hand and looked back to stare into a pair of stern eyes behind eyeglasses. "I shall have to ask both of you to leave for creating unnecessary noise," the elderly librarian said in an authoritative voice.
"I was not even speaking," Yue responded coldly.
"That's right," the young assistant muttered, but was only met with a sharp glare from her superior.
"Please allow me to apologize on behalf of my friend," Tomoyo bowed swiftly. "Actually, she lives in another country. So, she is just happy to meet everyone after a long time –," she tried to explain but was interrupted.
"And you think that this library is a place for your high school reunions?" the lady did not relent. "In fact, you young lady, and that senpai of yours had broken the rule more than once. A few weeks back you two had reportedly left without replacing the books you did not check out in their proper shelves," she said, adjusting her glasses on her sharp nose.
"Ano, Daidouji-san had an emergency that -," Hana started speaking.
"I don't want to hear excuses. I hate to have to do these things but I have to take your card and place an entry and borrow restriction on it for ten days. Same goes for you young man," the librarian finished turning to Yue.
Tomoyo and Yue exchanged a glance. The lady was following the official rules, although it seemed a bit whimsical to bring up something that happened weeks ago. Tomoyo was sure she would have let it slide had she not been irked by Meiling's loud voice. In any case, there was not much room to argue, so they silently handed their cards over to the woman. Yue got up to replace the two books that he had with him back at the stacks. Hana went towards the front desk shortly, pushing the empty cart of books. She must have stopped to talk to Yue-san on her way back from the storage section.
"You should have apologized, Meiling-chan. You almost shoved Hana-san aside to talk to Yue-san," Tomoyo mentioned in a low voice once the two of them were alone.
"Psst, you mean that cutesy girl? Like hell I would! She was trying to flirt with him for god's sake. As if someone like her ever has a chance," Meiling clicked her tongue.
"We are not here to judge such things, Meiling-chan," Tomoyo said.
"Hai hai, little miss angel. Geez, you and Sakura are both impossible," Meiling said. Yue came back at that time. After he had gathered his things from the desk, they silently made their way out of the library.
"Mattaku, what a stickler that lady is," Meilling pursed her lips, raising her voice again once they all were outside the building. Tomoyo watched her lively friend carefully. It seemed that Meiling-chan was quite satisfied that they practically got thrown out of the library. Unlike Sakura and herself, Meiling-chan could be rude when she wanted to, but she was not a senseless or insensitive person either. She usually used that ability to her advantage. This time, it seemed she knew exactly what she was doing, and the things that happened thereafter were part of her plan all along.
"We are extremely sorry, Yue-san. We ruined your day," Tomoyo sighed.
"Who told you it was ruined?" Yue responded calmly. "It was not very pleasant inside anyway," he added quietly.
"Then I rescued Yue-san from the annoyance, didn't I?" Meiling chimed in happily.
"Unfortunately, I cannot disagree with Meiling-san. Actually, I was hoping that you would be here sooner," Yue said, turning his face towards Tomoyo.
"You did? I,- I thought,-," Tomoyo ended the sentence with an uncharacteristic stutter. She felt the tips of her ears turn hot at the comment. He is so straightforward . Tomoyo knew what he meant. Hana-san would not have tried to engage him in an useless conversation if she was -san, Meiling was looking at them from the corner of her eyes. Tomoyo kept her eyes fixed on the ground as she walked between her two friends. Yue-san readily addressed Meiling-chan by her first name. All she had to do was to just tell him once. Yet, after all these months of getting to know each other, he was still stuck using her last name. All of this because she could not be free like Meiling-chan or Sakura-chan and tell him openly what she wanted.
"Ne Yue-san, you have nothing else to do right now, right?" Meiling asked, her long hair swishing from her side ponytails as she walked confidently on their way to the train station. "Then hang out with us. There is an interesting place that I was planning to visit with Tomoyo-chan later this week, but I think we can go today," Meiling smiled.
Yue did not reply immediately. Tomoyo felt his gaze fixed on her face. It seemed he was waiting to hear whether Tomoyo also approved of her friend's suggestion. But Tomoyo, being unsure of what to say, chose to remain silent. "I was hoping that I could go home. But I suppose it would also be acceptable to go with your suggestion as long as Daidouji-san does not find it disagreeable," Yue finally said.
"I don't mind at all. I will be happier if I am accompanied by two friends rather than one ," Tomoyo said. "Where are we going though?" She turned her head towards Meiling.
"Let that be a surprise till we get there," Meiling smiled.
The train took them to another part of the town. "Here we are," Meiling took a few steps ahead of her companions, brimming with excitement. "Yukito-san told me about this place," she added.
"A cat cafe?" Tomoyo looked at the cute exterior decor of the cafe before them. Before Meiling could walk inside, Tomoyo hurried and caught her hand.
"Ano, Meiling-chan this looks like a fun place but I don't know if going inside with Yue-san is such a good idea," Tomoyo said, and shot a quick glance at Yue, who had walked up to stand behind them. "He-," Tomoyo paused and took a breath. "He cannot eat and drink like us humans, you see," she said.
"Nani?" Meiling's facial expression was that of shocked surprise. "But Keroberos, Spinny and Momo-chan - all that those nuigurumis ever do is to stuff their mouth with food. Even Ruby Moon can eat like normal from what I heard," she said.
"I am different. Sorry," Yue said quietly.
"I don't care about that. Never apologize for who you are, Yue-san," Tomoyo said emphatically.
"That's right. It means nothing aside from the fact that Yue-san is special," Meiling stated. "Daijoubu, Touya-san should be working inside, so we should still be fine. Come," she ushered her companions inside.
They went inside the cafe, taking in its ambience. Some of the cats were being petted by the few patrons, and a few other cats were idly lounging on the empty tables. The group of three got themselves seated a bit farther from the crowd. At that moment, Touya entered from inside, wearing a server's apron and cap, and saw them.
"I knew Meiling would show up since Yuki told her about this, but did not expect to see you here," Touya told Yue as he approached their table.
"You two are being irresponsible as usual. I mean you and Yukito," Yue said solemnly.
"What's with that attitude?" Touya raised an eyebrow. "Are you here to scold me?" he asked.
"With your graduation coming up in a few months from now, you should be focused on exploring your free time to look for post doctoral opportunities. Yet here you are working odd jobs and taking silly pictures of felines to show Yukito and your sister. And Yukito seems perfectly content to let you do such useless things," Yue said disapprovingly.
"Hey, why are you so worried about our future? Who are you? Our big brother or our sensei? Not that you look like either of those anyway, at least not anymore," Touya snapped at the moon guardian.
"I just want to see that you two are stable before I–," Yue seemed to suddenly remember the presence of the two girls at the table. "Forget it," he skipped the rest of the unfinished sentence, casting an annoyed glance at Touya.
Touya was about to say something, but was interrupted by the soft meowing sounds. "Ah, kitties," Meiling exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "I was hoping to see them since Yukito-san showed me photos of them," she clasped her hands together. Tomoyo saw that three young kittens that looked no older than two months were scratching at the base of Yue-san's seat. His blue eyes shifted downwards at the small balls of fluff, then back to Touya, as if asking for some sort of permission.
"Yes, you can pet them," Touya huffed. "Sakura and Yukito love kawaii stuff like these so I took some photos to share with them. Didn't think that you all would be in the same category! Anyway, I have to get going," he took their orders before moving on to another table.
Yue carefully picked up the kittens one by one, and placed them on the table. There was a ginger one, a calico one and a tuxedo one. The baby cats immediately started rubbing their tiny heads on Yue's arms.
"Yue-san is a cat magnet, it seems," Tomoyo said with a wide smile on her lips, genuinely amused by the scene. Thinking about it, the man himself was somewhat like a cat - cold eyes and graceful aloofness that veiled a peevish temper, accompanied with a fierce loyalty to their chosen one characterized both the feline kind as well as Yue-san.
"They are just drawn to his power, silly," Meiling quipped, extending her hand to grab the ginger kitten, ignoring its fervent protests at being drawn away from the person of its interest which was Yue-san. Meiling cuddled the kitten, lifting it, and holding it against her face. It might be the truth, Tomoyo realized. She remembered having read somewhere that animals were subconsciously drawn to benevolent supernatural powers, while being repelled by malevolent ones.
"Let's not talk about those things here," Tomoyo warned her friend, just to be safe.
"Why do you worry so much? There is no one around us. So, even Yue-san is not worried," she placed the kitten back on the table, and immediately it tried to waddle its way back to Yue-san, but Meiling did not let it go.
Tomoyo looked at Yue. He seemed to be drowning out their conversation. Instead, his attention was focused on the kittens. The tuxedo one was nipping at his right index finger with its tiny fangs that looked like they were the cutest thing in the world, while the fingers of his other hand gently rubbed under the calico kitten's chin, making it purr in pure bliss. She continued to gaze at them, realizing that she had never even allowed herself the joy of having a pet of her own, out of the fear that it would be harder for her when their short lives came to an end. She wondered if Yue-san felt the same way about the people around him. Her eyes felt hazy for a moment.
"Tomoyo-chan, why are you looking at the kitten like that?" she heard Meiling's voice beside her.
"If you want to pet it, you should have just asked," Yue looked up. "Here," he held out his hands, the calico kitten gently snuggled between his palms.
"That's the problem with Tomoyo-chan. She rarely ever asks for what she wants," Meiling remarked as Tomoyo gently accepted the kitten from Yue's hands, their fingers brushing against each other in the process. "That's why Yue-san, even if she doesn't say anything, please try to understand her," Meiling said in a casual tone.
"Meiling-chan!" Tomoyo felt somewhat flustered. It always made her uneasy when her friends discussed anything about her in her presence. She was someone who always wanted to divert attention away from themselves. She bit down on her lips gently and stroked the head of the kitten. It gave her an appreciative purr, but its eyes were still focussed on Yue. Was she drawn to his lunar charm too, just like these kittens? Tomoyo wondered. She had heard that both Sakura and Syaoran had been once drawn to Yukito for that reason. But could magic really explain the depth of Touya-san's feelings for his best friend or her feelings for Yue-san? If it was magic, why did it happen to her now and not years before? Was magic really so strong? Even stronger than the human heart?
The kitten took advantage of Tomoyo's thoughtful state to squirm out of her loose fingers and find its way back to Yue. Touya brought out the coffee and food they had ordered at that point.
"Don't let these chibis get to the food. Sweets are not good for cats," Tomoyo turned her head at the sound of her cousin's deep voice and met his dark eyes. She looked away immediately. Unlike Sakura, her big brother was quite perceptive. Tomoyo felt that one good glance at her eyes, and Touya would read her heart completely. She had not done anything wrong, yet the bitter feeling of guilt tormented her every moment. "Someone seems to be having a good time with the kittens! Someone who was calling me out for being silly earlier," Touya smacked his fist lightly on Yue's silver head before leaving the table.
"Unprofessional and impertinent!" Yue muttered.
After having their food and drink and playing with the kittens some more, they left the cafe, to the dismay of the young kittens at being parted from Yue. Touya was done with his shift, so he joined them on their way back. It was a dreary afternoon, and it started to flurry a bit as they walked down to the station.
Tomoyo walked silently beside Touya. Ahead of them, Meiling was complaining about the cold, and asking why Yue-san was not wearing the jacket that he carried in his arms as he walked beside her. Tomoyo understood that the moon guardian did not feel cold like the humans, but carried the winter clothes around just to avoid any kind of questions or suspicious stares from strangers. Yue replied that he did not need it, but slipped it on nevertheless.
"Touya onii-san," Tomoyo called her cousin softly. The dark haired young man was walking beside her with his hands in his pockets, face tilted up to gaze at the gray sky. Tomoyo knew that if Tsukishiro-san had been with them, her cousin's eyes would not be so keen on watching the sky.
"What is it?" Touya questioned casually.
"Did you decide what you are going to do after graduation? I mean you and Tsukishiro-san?" Tomoyo asked. She had vaguely heard from Sakura that her elder brother wanted to consider the option of going abroad for research, but Tsukishiro-san was hesitant, probably because of Yue-san. If he finally agreed, then soon there would be a time when Tomoyo would not even be able to see Yue-san regularly. The thought pained Tomoyo, but what pained her more was the thought of Yue-san being alone in a different country where no one would truly know or understand him. Difficult as his existence was in this little Japanese town of Tomoeda, at least he did not have to hide his true identity from a handful of people such as Li-kun, Sakura-chan, Meiling-chan and herself, aside from Touya onii-san, his other form and the sun guardian of course.
"It's not time yet," Touya answered, his eyes not leaving the sky.
Tomoyo glanced up at the tall man beside her, opened her mouth to speak something and then stopped herself. "I see," she said finally after a pause, glancing down at the stones of the pavement.
A moment later, Tomoyo felt the soft touch of a large hand on her head. "It will be alright, don't worry," Touya said, letting his hand rest on his cousin's head a little longer. Tomoyo was unable to answer, being overpowered by a mixture of guilt and gratitude. It was difficult to determine whether Touya was trying to assure himself or her. Suddenly, it did not seem impossible that either Tsukishiro-san or Touya onii-san could have vaguely guessed the nature of her feelings towards Yue. Those two were so close that they could practically read each other's minds, so if one of them knew, the other would know inevitably. And since Yue-san already had access to Tsukishiro-san's mind, he would be knowing too. Tomoyo suddenly felt like she wanted to disappear somewhere. She did not know how to face anybody anymore. After a moment, she willed herself to calm down, rationalizing that she was probably overthinking the situation.
It might have been an impact of the bleak weather, but their train ride was unusually quiet. Even the ever talkative Meiling seemed to have lost her usual enthusiasm for engaging the others in a conversation. "Ja ne, Tomoyo-chan, see you tomorrow," she waved goodbye before getting off the train with Yue and Touya. Tomoyo smiled at the three of them and said goodbye. Meiling had been staying with Sakura for the first half of her visit, and they had decided that she would spend the second half at Tomoyo's place, starting from the day next. Yue's blue eyes gazed back at Tomoyo sharply, and she saw him take out his phone as he stepped off the train. A moment later, the notification tone of her phone sounded. Do not fall asleep , Yue had texted, using only the bare minimum number of words.
The following night, Tomoyo and Meiling were watching a movie together in Tomoyo's bedroom. Meiling had arrived to stay at her place that evening, and after having a hearty conversation with Sonomi over dinner, the two girls had retired for the night. Since neither of them felt sleepy immediately, Meiling suggested that they watched a movie. She selected a fairly short animated one offered by an online streaming platform. At first Tomoyo did not feel much drawn to it, since it seemed like it would be another generic supernatural love story between a human and a supernatural entity. Tomoyo really had no taste for passionate love stories. Instead, her eyes focused on the crochet pattern she was making as a holiday gift for someone. However, the movie was fairly slow, and the storyline was easy to follow from the dialogues she heard. About halfway into the movie, Tomoyo realized that her initial assessment of the plot was incorrect. Soon, she found herself putting aside her craft and intently watching the large screen on the wall opposite to her bed. Meiling too seemed captivated with the story. As the plot progressed further, Tomoyo started feeling a growing ache in her chest. As the movie finished rather abruptly, Tomoyo felt her own heart shatter along with that of the protagonist.
"Tsk, I thought they were going to have a happy ending! Such a shame," Meiling remarked, placing a pillow beneath her chest.
"The genre is wrong," Tomoyo fell back on her pillow. "It is not a love story at all, but one of sacrifice," she said. Tomoyo never cried at movies. It felt silly to be so sentimental over a fictional situation. However, at that moment, her eyes burned so much it felt like there were embers inside them. It did not help that the youkai in the movie had silver hair of the same color as the man she had fallen for. It did not help that he was cursed to disappear the moment his skin touched that of a human, that of the person whom he cared for the most. And most certainly, it did not help Tomoyo that the character did that anyway, so that the girl could move on and not be stuck in a hopeless relationship (see A/N #1 at the end).
"Isn't it the same thing? One cannot simply make such a sacrifice if there is no love," Meiling responded wisely. "Besides, there is no such genre," she added.
"They should add it," Tomoyo said languidly and placed a hand over her eyes.
"Whatever. Anyway, I am sleepy too after such a depressing movie," Meiling said. She turned off the light and the TV, and lied down on the other side of the bed.
The room had been dark and quiet for a while and Tomoyo's face had been buried in her pillow for about the same amount of time. Finally, a soft hand touched Tomoyo's back. "I didn't know the plot. I didn't know that it would make Tomoyo-chan sad. Gomen ne," Meiling said very quietly as she pressed her face lightly against her friend's back.
"Why did he have to disappear? It's unjust! And so unfair," Tomoyo's emotional barrier was broken at her friend's touch and her words, and a sob shook her curled up body.
Meiling sat up instantly, and ran a hand over her friend's wavy dark hair. "This is about Yue-san, isn't it?" she asked, although she already understood what was happening as she watched how Tomoyo's face had lost its color as the movie ended.
Tomoyo didn't answer verbally, but turned her face towards Meiling. The answer to the question was written all over her tear streaked face. Meiling sighed. "You like him that much already, huh?" she said.
"I love Yue-san," Tomoyo answered simply and honestly. It was pointless to try to hide it beyond that point. Meiling had picked up the cues since the moment she landed. It did not take her long to put things together.
Meiling's scarlet eyes widened a little in the darkness. "I see," she said softly. "That's why it seemed like you were struggling with something when he was with us yesterday. It is a bit strange though! I mean yeah, I get that he is more gorgeous than any movie star you can name, but geez, that man seems cold like the north pole! Not to mention gloomy. And you are not the type who would fall for someone's looks,-"
"I didn't. Yue-san is really kind; and honorable," Tomoyo interrupted.
"If that is true then why these tears?" Meiling asked kindly. "And why are you projecting upon that movie character? Yue-san is not going to disappear the moment you two kiss or something," Meiling chuckled trying to cheer up her friend.
Tomoyo refused to take the bait and react to the statement. "What will I do if he does disappear though? I don't know, Meiling-chan," she said, more tears welling up within her eyes.
Meiling extended her hand and flipped the switch of the bedside lamp. She then pulled Tomoyo's face on her lap and rested her hand on her head. "Sakura's powers have grown quite strong. Something like that seems so unlikely," she tried to assure.
"Then why does the moon grow a little smaller each time I have that strange dream?" Tomoyo clutched her friend's hand, and in broken, tearful sentences she explained the recurrent dream that she had been having over the last month or two.
Meiling could not suppress a sigh when Tomoyo had finished her account. "And as usual you kept such a thing to yourself," she said.
"What else could I do? You know how Sakura-chan and Touya onii-san worry about things! Li-kun and Tsukishiro-kun aren't much better either," Tomoyo said, her tears refusing to dry up. It was nice to be able to finally tell someone, even though Meiling did not have magical powers, just like herself.
"You need to tell Yue-san. About your feelings, this strange dream, everything," Meiling suggested calmly.
"No," Tomoyo's entire body shivered slightly.
"Yes!" Meiling said firmly. "He deserves to know that someone loves him so much. He deserves to know if there is some danger to his existence," she said rationally.
"No," Tomoyo repeated again, shaking her head. "Please,-"
Meiling somewhat lost her patience this time. "Tomoyo-chan," she said sharply. "He is your friend, and the Tomoyo-chan I know has never been the shy type of girl. What's the problem? You think he does not care for you?" she asked.
Tomoyo turned her face on Meiling's lap. It was pale, tired, dampened with tears. "It is not just about us, it is also about Tsukishiro-san and Touya onii-san," she said, her voice barely rising above a whisper.
"Oh," Meiling seemed to have not considered that angle before. She became quiet for a while, and continued to stroke her friend's hair. "Suppose, for a moment, that Yukito-san and Yue-san were different persons. Do you think Yue-san would accept and return your feelings in that case?" she questioned after a short time.
Tomoyo breathed deeply. "Maybe he would. Or maybe he would think that I am just a weird kid! I truly don't know Meiling-chan," her tears overflowed her eyes again.
"He has changed you know," Meiling's hand wiped the tears from her face. "I wouldn't have imagined Yue-san sitting in a cafe petting tiny kittens a year ago, but there he was just yesterday," she added. "The most rational explanation would be that your friendship changed him. He is certainly not indifferent to you anymore," she stated.
"That doesn't mean he has the same feelings. Besides, he seems to deeply love Clow Reed, and –,"
"He's dead,and you are not," Meiling interjected.
"Don't be rude, Meiling-chan. Yue-san is very sensitive," Tomoyo said.
"I am sorry, but that's the unchangeable truth for you. Besides, we don't even know what kind of feelings he had for Clow-san. We can sit here and speculate all night, but the best thing to do is to just tell him. I am sure there is also some solution to resolve the situation with Yukito-san. If they both want it, they might be able to separate from each other," Meiling said.
"Arigatou, Meiling-chan," Tomoyo said quietly. The strong words ignited just a tiny flicker of hope in the darkness of her heart.
"Just give it some thought, alright?" Meiling said. Tomoyo nodded her head a little. No further words were spoken that night, but Meiling fully intended to return the support and comfort she had received from Tomoyo amidst her grief many years ago, and was simply glad to be present beside her troubled friend.
When Meiling and Tomoyo arrived at Yukito and Yue's house the following Saturday, they found him busy watering the hedges that outlined the front yard.
"Yue-san," Meiling called and waved from the gate. Yue turned partially to observe the two girls "If you need to see Yukito, I will be inside in a while," he said without stopping the task he was doing. Tomoyo looked at him once and quickly looked away. The young man was clad in a black long sleeved tee with sleeves rolled up to the elbow and gray trousers. It was probably the first time she saw him wearing anything other than formal attires or his original white silken robes. The dark color brilliantly complemented his pale complexion, and Tomoyo was almost scared to look again, lest she was unable to look away.
"Chigau. We get to see Yukito-san all the time. We are here to see you," Meiling said.
Yue's blinked his eyes once as he processed the information. No one ever came to see him other than Sakura and Keroberos. Occasionally, he had to interact with Touya and Li Syaoran, and that was about it. He saw Tomoyo gazing at the road. The light frills of her light pink skirt and her long dark locks fluttered a little in the chilly morning air. "Don't stand outside in the cold, go inside. I shall be with you as soon as I am done here," he said as he watered the remaining plants.
"Come, Tomoyo-chan," Yue saw the girl from Hong Kong pull her friend's hand and drag her inside through the open door.
When Yue entered the house a few minutes later, he saw the two girls sitting by the table. "It's really strange to see you do such chores," Meiling remarked, grinning, as she saw him take off the gloves he had worn for doing the gardening tasks.
"I do my part to take care of things around here as an occasional inhabitant of this house," Yue replied.
"We are sorry for interrupting your morning schedule, Yue-san. As we are banned from the library this week, so we thought of coming here," Tomoyo said, bowing her head.
"Don't be silly Tomoyo-chan, we are not here to interrupt. We are here to give Yue-san his holiday gifts," Meiling said.
"Gifts?" Yue asked in an impassive tone, sitting down at the other edge of the table. It was Christmas eve, Yue remembered. Not that it mattered anymore.
"Yes, because you are our friend now, like it or not. Here," Meiling held out a small square box, wrapped in white paper and red ribbons for him to take.
After Yue extended his hand to accept it, Tomoyo retrieved an oblong box from her bag. It was wrapped with an indigo colored gift wrap and silver ribbons. "Happy holidays, Yue-san," she held out the gift in her hand.
Yue took the item and placed both boxes side by side. He glanced at them for a few moments before he spoke again, "What should I give the two of you in return?" he asked plainly.
"Don't worry about that Yue-san, it is enough tha,-," Tomoyo started but Meiling had other plans.
"The best gift that you can give someone is your time," Meiling said before the other girl could finish. Tomoyo blinked at her friend, trying to figure out where this was going. Yue raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly, waiting for the girl to finish. "There is an inter-college music festival at Tokyo in exactly a two weeks from now. Tomoyo-chan his performing there. Please go with her," Meiling bowed her head and clasped her hands together.
"Meiling-chan!" Tomoyo sounded shocked. "Yue-san, please don't pay heed to her," Tomoyo tried to brush off the topic, but saw something akin to a mix of curiosity and amusement in Yue's blue eyes.
"How will you be getting a return gift if I go with Daidouji-san?" Yue asked Meiling.
Meiling lifted her head, her eyes sparkling with hope. "Then let me tell you the full story, Yue-san. This event was originally scheduled to take place before Christmas. We thought that we could all go together and cheer for Tomoyo-chan - I mean Syaoran, Sakura and I. Unfortunately, the event got postponed to the week after New Year. But I am returning to Hong Kong on the 27th, and Sakura and Syaoran are also coming with me to visit. So, if you go, Tomoyo-chan will have a friend beside her and we will have a proxy for our absence," Meiling explained. Yue closed his eyes and seemed to think.
"But there will be many people, it will be too crowded for Yue-san's comfort," Tomoyo tried to reason. Meiling's account was true. All that she described really happened, but Tomoyo really had not expected that Meiling would make such a request of Yue-san.
"I can go," Yue said. "Unless Daidouji-san finds it to be an imposition," Yue turned his head to look at Tomoyo for the first time in a while.
Tomoyo could not hold his gaze for more than a few seconds. "Yue-san's company will never be unwelcome to me. Please don't think like that," she said, looking down.
"In that case, here are the tickets and a brochure. Please take some photos and video clips to share with the rest of us," Meiling said smiling as she handed Yue the mentioned stuff. She had come fully prepared for this, Tomoyo realized.
Yue read the brochure quietly for a minute and nodded. "Fine," he said. His hand then picked up the square box Meiling gifted him, and pulled the ribbon to unwrap it.
Suddenly, Tomoyo seemed unsettled. "Meiling-chan, I think we are done here. Come on, Sakura-chan and Kero-chan must be waiting for us," she said, getting up.
"Hey, we are not that late, wha-" Tomoyo pulled up a confused Meiling by the hand and went to the door. She quickly bowed to Yue with a brief goodbye and excused herself out of the door, almost dragging Meiling with her.
"Ja ne, Yue-san," Meiling's loud voice was fading in the distance when Yue calmly rose from his seat and went to close the front door. Both of those two are crazy in different ways, he thought to himself.
Tomoyo continued to walk fast until she reached the nearest bus stop. She then sank on the bench and held her face in her palms. Luckily there was no one there. Meiling sat down beside her and placed a hand on her back.
"What's with the crazy request, Meiling-chan?" Tomoyo questioned in a tired voice. "I didn't think you would ask him for something like that," she said.
"If I had told you beforehand, you would have refused to come," Meiling said. "Besides, what's crazy about him going with you to see your music performance? That's what friends do for each other all the time. I did not ask the two of you to go to a movie followed by a candlelight dinner, or to a romantic couple's onsen resort, right?" Meiling asked.
"Meiling-chan!" the tips of Tomoyo's ears and nose turned bright red in a flash with embarrassment. "Please don't say such awkward things. Yue-san doesn't,-"
"Do you wish to spend time with him or not?" Meiling interrupted her again, in accordance with her impatient nature. Tomoyo could not deny that part, so she nodded in agreement.
"Then the two of you need to get out of that goddamn library for once. Geez, even if Yue-san felt the same way, I am sure he would be too reserved to ask you out without any sort of push," Meiling stated.
"It might be uncomfortable for him to go there. And he might think it was secretly my plan to get him to come all along. He is not a fool," Tomoyo said.
"Did he say that he would be uncomfortable? And if he is not a fool then he already knows that you are beyond such tactics, at least when it comes to yourself. If he is not a fool, he will also figure out your feelings from the present that you gave him. If it bothers him too much, he can cancel the plan himself," Meiling spoke even faster than usual.
"The present?" Tomoyo questioned.
"I saw it this morning when you were packing it. Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I just came back to the room to get something. Gomen ne," Meiling said, casting her eyes down at their feet. "I really want everything to work out for the two of you, but who knows if I even played my cards right?" she sighed.
Tomoyo extended her arms and hugged Meiling. "Don't be sorry, Meiling-chan, for your wishes gives me the strength to go on," she said. After taking a deep breath she continued again. "Whatever happens, however Yue-san reacts to my gift or to my feelings, I should be able to accept it. I just do not want him to disappear from this world," she added solemnly.
Meiling patted Tomoyo's shoulder gently. "Ne Tomoyo-chan, if one day everything gets sorted out, and you get your Yue-san, where would you want to go with him?" she asked after a brief silence.
Tomoyo's face heated up again, a feeling that was totally new to her. "To the mountains, he reminds me of them," she answered softly.
Yue unwrapped Meiling's present first to reveal a small crystal reading lamp in the shape of the moon. Inside there was also a holiday themed card: Yue-san, I have heard of your passion for reading. So, I wanted to give you something that would hopefully light your way as you walk on that path. Meiling . A small smile appeared on the young man's lips for an instant. This girl named Li Meiling sure knew how to cover a lot of ground in a short time. He also felt grateful that Sakura and Tomoyo had such a true friend.
Next was Tomoyo's present. Yue unwrapped the package carefully with just a speckle of curiosity. Resting inside was a fine crocheted leaf, about five inches in length, evidently crafted by an expert hand to act as a bookmark. The firm material used was a pleasant shade of green, and the intricate veins of the leaf were done in silver threads. Just by looking at it, Yue knew that it was made by Tomoyo's own hands. He lifted it gently from its velvet box to see if there was a card. There was not but there was something else attached to the stalk of the leaf that was carefully tucked away in a corner of the box. From a silver thread attached to the stalk was suspended a miniature teddy bear, no larger than two inches in length. Its fur was a brilliant blue-black shade and its eyes were a shade of deep violet. Overall, it was an exquisite bookmark, but he could plainly see that it was much more than that. (see A/N #2 at the end)
Yue sighed, an expression of sadness and pain appearing on his perfect countenance. Daidouji-san, despite being so smart, you are indeed a fool, just as I suspected . How long it must have taken you to craft such a miniature bear to perfection? Only to waste it on someone who cannot return it; cannot return anything to you. Suddenly, the way Tomoyo almost fled from the scene the moment he started opening the packages made sense to him. The poor girl did not have the confidence to stay there and witness his reaction at the present. He was partly glad that she had left, for he too did not want her to see his reaction. He was almost scared that there might be something else in his expression, something other than sadness and pain, something that might allow Daidouji-san to hope.
A/Ns:
1. The movie mentioned in this chapter is an actual anime movie called Hotarubi no mori e/Into the forest of firefly lights. It is quite well known, but I recommend anyone who hasn't watched to give it a try. It is quite pertinent to the situation of this story, so I used it as a reference.
2. Once again, I would like to remind the readers of the significance of giving teddy bears in the cardcaptor sakura universe.
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